Mechanical toy.



J. A. WATT.

MECHANICAL TOY. 1

APPLICATION FILED FEB. a, 1913.

1,091,448 Patented Mar. 24, 191i Q/Vi/tneooe o 3 wua W601 \JDLUMDIAPLANOGRAF'H CO..WASHINGTON. D c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES A. WATT, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR T0 WILLIAM ARTHUR, DE HART,

OF NEW YORK, N. Y. I

V MECHANICAL TOY.

Specification of Letters Patent.

PatentedMar. 24:, 1914.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, J AMES ANDREW lVA'r'r, a subject of the King ofEngland, and resident of the borough of Manhattan, city, county, andState of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inMechanical Toys, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to devices wherein a principle is used, thoughnot new in itself is here developed in a manner that results in theproduction of an attractive easily operated toy.

I employ a wheel which may be of carborundum or other abrasive substanceor which may as shown in the drawing be of wood or card board havingupon its periphery finely powdered emery or other simi lar hardsubstance. Arranged adjacent to this abrasive surface and to theperiphery of the wheel is a hard metallic or mineral block that is, bycertain actions of gravity and the rotation of the parts caused tointermittently impinge upon the abrasive wheels thus causing a series ofbrilliant sparks to be discharged from the periphery of the wheel.

I have provided simple means for rotating the wheel at the desirablehigh rate of speed, and I have provided efiicient means for supportingthe hard metallic point in such a manner that it may be traversed overthe whole surface of the abrasive material. Other advantages and themeans of operating the device will be set forth as the specificationprogresses.

The following is what I consider the best means of carrying out thisinvention.

The accompanying drawings form a part of this specification, in which:

Figure 1 shows in elevation the complete device, in this figure only oneof the cords are shown twisted. Fig. 2 shows the device in sideelevation though with the cord omitted for clearness. Fig. 3 shows a boxmember of greater length and having the perforation somewhat nearer theupper end. This figure may be considered an exaggerated view of Fig. 2.

Similar reference numerals indicate like parts in all the figures wherethey appear.

At 1, I have shown a wheel which may be of card board or of any othersuitable material and I prefer that this wheel shall be light thoughsufficiently rigid to support an abrasive surface 2. In my developmentthis abrasive surface is shown as a narrow strip of emery cloth or paperout to the proper length and glued to the periphery of the wheel 1,though I have found that to place an adhesive upon the periphery of thedisk and then scatter powdered carborundum thereon is a convenient wayto obtain the desirable surface. I have also found that to produce thiswheel entirely of carborundum" or other similar material might be foundadvantageous though because of the weight of the wheel thus formed Ihavenot employed this method.

It is desirable to rotate the wheel 1 and to accomplish this I produce ashaft which has a plurality of wings 1 and 5 provided certain .distancesfrom the center. A plurality of extensions of smaller size formedintegral with the wings a and 5 and each termina-ting in an eye. Theextensions are indicated at 6 and 7 and the eyes at 8 and 9respectively. I slit the wheel 1 directly through the center and theninsert the shafts causing an equal length of the shaft to project uponeach side of the wheel. Cords 10 and 11 are then knotted or secured inthe eyes 8 and 9, and it is by means of these cords that I rotate thewheel 1 utilizing therefor the twist of the cords and their tendency tounwind when pulled taking care that the pull be sufficient to impart aspeed to the wheel that will cause it to rewind the cords, or retwistthe cords in the opposite direction.

For the purpose of accomplishing the desirable result it is necessary tosupport a contacting member adjacent to the periphery of the wheel 1 sothat it will operate upon the abrasive material 2. Such a contactingmember is shown in the block 12 and to support it I provide a box 13closed on four sides only, I prefer to form this box member 13 of sheetmetal so flexible that when the contact member 12 wears the bar 1 1,which supports it may be depressed inward if this is found necessary tocause the member 12 to touch the wheel at the proper time.

The box member 13 is oblong in shape and at midlength of each of itslongest sides I produce a perforation 15. These perforations are largeand although it is intended that the projection 6 and 7 shall. pass intothe perforations 15, it is not intended that they shall be closelyconfined therein, but

that the box member 13 shall have some latitude for longitudinalreciprocations.

From the foregoing description it is thought that the operation of mydevice will be readily understood but as it is peculiar to itself I willdescribe it.

The ends of the cords and 11 are held in the fingers and the deviceswinging freely thereon is rotated until the cords are well twisted asshown at 16. A pull upon the ends of the cords will cause them tountwist while rotating the wheel 1 and the shaft passing therethrough.It will be found that the box 13 will also rotate butbecause of. theimperfect fit between the shaft and the box member, this box member willrotate hesitatingly as though retarded by some means. About the time thebox member is rotating at the speed of the wheel the cords have beenrewound in the opposite direction and a pull thereon reverses thedirection of rotation of the wheel. The loose bearing between the shaftand the box member 13 allows the'bo-x member to continue to rotate inthe original direction for a short time after which its direction ofrotation is slowly changed until it again synchronizes with the rotationof the wheel. It is this rotation of the box member due to itscentrifugal and independent motion and the slowness of this member inchanging the direction of its motion that causes a spark of unusualbrilliancy and length to be discharged from the point of contact of theabrasive materials.

To doubly assure an effective contact between the abrasive surfaces Imay perforate the members of the box member 13 slightly out of center,that is I may carry the perforation 15 to a point somewhat nearer theupper end of the device as shown in Fig, 2. I will also take care toallow the box member 13 no longitudinal motion on the shaft as I desirethat the block 12 shall travel upon about a center line, of the wheel 2.

I may find it desirable to slightly weight the lower side of the boxmember 13, that is the side opposite to that which supports the member12 by folding an extension from the side one or more times across thebottom as shown in the dotted line in Fig. 1, although I have not foundthat generally necessary.

Other modifications may be made within the scope of the appended claimswithout departing from the principle or sacrificing the advantages ofthis invention.

Having carefully and fully described my invention what I claim anddesire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. A wheel having an abrasive uponits periphery thereof, a shaft extending through said wheel and securedthereto, a member loosely mounted upon said shaft and supporting anabrasive adjacent to the periphery of said wheel and means for impartinga rotary motion to said shaft and to said abrasive supporting means asherein specified.

2. A device of the character described having a wheel and means forrotating it in alternate directions, abrasive substance carried upon theperiphery of said wheel a box member loosely surrounding said wheel andadapted to contact therewith, an abrasive substance supported by saidbox member and adapted to be interposed at the point of contact betweensaid box member and said wheel for the purpose set forth.

3. A wheel, a flat shaft extending through said wheel and provided withmeans for se curing the wheel thereon, means for rotating said shaft aflexible member loosely mounted upon said shaft and cooperating abrasivespark producing materials carried by the periphery of said wheel andsaid flexible member for the purpose set forth.

4. In a flat device of the character described, a shaft, a. wheelsecured thereto and having an abrasive material upon its periphery, amember loosely mounted upon said shaft, and extending over the peripheryof said wheel for supporting an abrasive adjacent the periphery of saidwheel,means secured to said shaft for imparting a rotary motion to saidshaft and said wheel, and the edges of means upon said shaft beingadapted to induce a rotary motion to the said abrasive supporting meansloosely mounted upon said shaft as herein specified.

5. A toy having a wheel and shaft for supporting it and means forimparting to said wheel a rotary motion, first in one direction and thenanother and a box mem her having two of its sides open loosely supportedupon said shaft and a plurality of abrasive and spark producing surfacessecured upon the periphery of said wheel and said box member as hereinspecified.

Signed at New York city, in the county and State of New York this day ofJan.

JAS. A. IVATI. Witnesses G. E. S'rEmE'rrE, ARTHUR PHnLrs MARK.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. C.

